Miles's Birthday week...

Miles's birthday was next (4/23) & I was so excited that the little man was turning 1! I wanted it to be extra special for him, even though he had no idea what's going on. But I figured there is a possibility that he is creating emotional memories that he will subconciously draw on for the rest of his life - I couldn't have his subconcious spewing out bad emotional memories of his 1st birthday & having bad feelings about birthdays for the rest of his life! How ridiculous right?

Anyway, we had a playgroup party planned at the park, a special birthday shopping day at Toys R Us lined up & then the big party on Saturday. On the Sunday before his birthday week kicked off, he came down with a 103.2 fever. He came back down to 99 by morning with the aid of tylenol, but something just wasn't right - a mom knows! I thought it was an ear infection, but it turned out to be worse! (well, the doc said it was better, but for birthday week, it was worse!) Miles had contracted hand, foot & mouth virus and we were housebound until the sores healed. The name sounds grotesque, but it is actually a pretty common childhood illness. Have to clarify: my child is not a grotesque dirty varmit. Hand, Foot & Mouth virus is a normal thing. Ok, moving on. Luckily, he only got 3 sores on is tongue & they healed fast. But, we had to call of his birthday play group (boo) & we almost had to cancel our special visit from the San Clemente Chavis Tribe. I was depressed for Miles. I tried to make being in the house all week fun (that subconcious thing). We played in his baby pool - who knew it could be so fun without water, but Miles LOVES it! I bought him a couple early gifts - the favorite being the Best of "Veggie Tales" CD. It is a crack up & Miles loves the music. I really recommend it if your sense of humor is just weird.

We actually had a great time stuck together in the house & I got to do all my obsessive cleaning things before our house guests & party guests arrived over the weekend. Miles was just fine after the fever passed & without sores by Thursday - just in time turn 1!

Here is Miles & his baby pool. He cruised all over the house like this on & off for 2 days - when he first scooted by me, I thought I was going to die laughing ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was two weeks ago now that I had my big 2-9. I know, I am a bad blogger. But, thats no surprise by now, right? Anyway, I had a wonderful birthday, despite the fact that I turned 29. As Amber put it, 29 is almost worse than 30; It's the final countdown to 30 - the waiting year. Ugh. I feel old. Change the subject, shall we?

So, my birthday was great because I got lots of birthday wishes from all my friends & family. I am always surprised at how many people remember my birthday (thank you facebook!) and it makes me feel so special on my birthday when my friends/family send a text, give me a call, send a card or shoot me an email just to wish me a happy day & let me know they are thinking of me. It really reminds me of how important it is for me to remember my loved ones birthdays so I can make them feel special on their birthdays as well. I used to be GREAT at remembering birthdays (almost as good as Caley & Jamie!), but since having Miles, I just stink at it. No excuse. Maybe living in a "ground hog day" existense just kind of lends itself to forgetfullness as your brain just slowly shuts down. Anyway, I resolve to be much better about remembering birthdays! I want all of you to feel as special as I did because you remembered me!

Amber Laney cooked me an amazing fish dinner for my day. She even went above & beyond & cooked my fish-loathing husband a burger. She baked me a delicious box cake (cakes from scratch don't compare - try baking one & you'll see!) with sprinkles! We had wine, got a little silly & took an evening nature walk with the kids & the nats. It was a great night! Oh! And, I got this candle that I couldn't bear to pay $20 for but was obsessed with at Bed, Bath & Beyond. We decided it smells like a well cologned man at the end of the day/night. Yummmm. It's called "firewood" & is by Henri Mendel (?). Instant turn-on.

Pictures!

Finally uploaded some new pics from the last month!

Look how fun it is to lay sod!

Abby was such a good helper!

Before

After ;)

I love to crawl around furniture & play peek-a-boo

I like to push any mobile object around the house too!

The spitting image of little Michael

I found mommy under the table!

Our home & Miles walking up the driveway with his buggy - such a stud!

My little bunny rabbit

Grandma is so impressed by how I talk on the phone & say "Hi!"

Grandma Kisses, Miles & Grandpa

So coooool ;)

The infamous birthday picture in front of the kitchen cabinets. The big 2-9 this year. Ugh!

Brush Your Teeth!

In these last several days, I have realized yet another way in which I have been spoiled as a stay at home mommy. I had a ton of things to do to on Friday, my first official day of work on Sunday & a days worth of dental work on Monday. Each of these days, I had to be somewhere at a specific time, & I couldn't be late. This was horrible for me. I am a notoriously late person as it is, but after 11 months of doing things each day on my timeline, having to be some where at a certain time again really sucked. I don't know how working mothers do it each day. Seriously, you are amazing. Amazing.

My first official day at work went pretty well. I am working at Sutter Hospital doing in patient rehab 1 or 2 weekends a month. This will hopefully work out great for our family since we won't have to worry about child care & I will be able to keep my therapy skills up to date. Mike gets to bond with Miles & I get to feel like a contributer to our household finances again (which is important to me, even though Mike could care less). I love doing OT in any setting, but I forgot how rough hospital work is. I had a 20 minute lunch, peed once & was on my feet or doing chart reviews the rest of the day. I know, wah, wah, wah, but seriously, I came home so tired! And, Daddy did an awesome job with Miles. He was fed, happy, in "day" clothes and napped. However, the contents of drawers & cabinets in our bathroom were spread all over our room, toys were everywhere & my type A, OCD cleanliness could hardly deal. As tired as I was, I cleaned up the whole house before I sat down. I am a sick person, I know.

Monday was a sad, sad day. I sat in a dental chair from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.. I have the worst teeth ever. During my pregnancy & since our move, I have just let things go. This resulted in baby cavities becoming monster cavities with a monster bill attached. Everyone was really nice & I watched a DVD & read a magazine through the whole process, which was relaxing in an odd way. I almost cried after the hygeinist lectured me about flossing & brushing after meals. I felt like such a dirty person, but I am not! I am an avid brusher (so-so flosser) & not an orally hygeine challenged person. But, my teeth just rot! My husband on the other hand can fall asleep without brushing his teeth every so often, eat insane amounts of hard sugar candies & NEVER floss, and he has 1 cavity. ONE! Just got his first filled last month! Are you joking me! I pray Miles inherits his teeth genes. If not, we better start saving now.

We ( & by "we", I mean Mike) layed sod in our backyard this weekend! I am so excited to have a backyard with grass to play on! We have been staring at weeds for 4 months & the green is so pretty. Mike (with the help of Brian Laney for a large part of the project) did an awesome job! He worked his arse off & it really payed off! The sprinklers have posed a slight challenge even though Mike trouble shooted the system before putting down the grass. We are so happy for the rain, though! I hope it helps our grass take root ;) It would be so sad to see all that hard work die because of a stinky sprinkler. We are watering like crazy to make sure that doesn't happen, though. If it does, I am sure I will be laying down the next batch of grass! I know Mike is over ever doing that again!

I have pictures, but true to form, I haven't down loaded them yet! I will soon...

Miles is fabulous. He is in a super stinky boy phase, though. He bangs & throws everything. I spend my whole day saying, "No, no", "No touch" & redirecting him over & over again. Good thing he is so cute! He has added the word "Hot" to his vocabularly (which consists of baby, mama, dada & Hi). He has learned that the sign "more" can be used for everything! No steps yet, but I think he will be a later walker. He cruises that buggy all over the place, though. Looks like he has inherited Mike's speed. That kid is quick!

And, a BIG congrtulations to Joe, Kyra & Gianna Barale who welcomed Abriella "Abbi" Mae on 4/2. Kyra was amazing & had her a'natural! This is especially impressive since she had to have a c-section with Gianna. Kyra, you are my inspiration!

Play filled weekend!

We have had lots going on lately & life has been fun! Christina had baby Luke Michael Sims on 3/18/09 at 3:45. He weighed in at 8 lb. 6 oz. & was almost 22 in. long! Even with those big stats he still was SO tiny when we saw him this weekend. I never thought I would forget that Miles was that small but I have. I tried to tell myself at the time "hold on to these memories" but it is so hard! Mommy amnesia is real! Thank goodness for pictures! So glad I got a pic of Luke before my camera died.

Luke Michael Sims

My cousin Stacy's son Bentley also turned one this past weekend (Yay!) & we had so much fun at his birthday party. Miles really had a great time crawling around between all the guests feet & playing with a new batch of toys. I had a great time too! It is always nice to take your active baby to a kid friendly house! I got to relax while he played with all the toys, relatives & other babies instead of chasing him around saying, "No touch" on repeat. No pics of the party, dead camera. Boo.

We squeezed in a visit to Kyra & Joe while we were in the Bay for the above festivity. I was so happy that we were able to coordinate a visit. Ky & Joe hadn't seen Miles yet, I hadn't seen their new house or Gigi in a year! Miles loved playing with Gigi & it is so cute that they both love to point their little index finger out at you for you to touch it with yours as a sign of affection! The Barale's house is beautiful & way to go to Joe for building it himself! He is an animal! Kyra is about to burst, but she looks gorgeous (even though she will tell you your lying if you said that to her!) She does though! I can't wait to hear who the next Barale will be. Ky & Joe are those crazy people that can last 9 months without knowing their babies gender!

This week has already gotten off to a fun start. We did a windy walk to Target on Monday with the Laneys & then stayed to play in the afternoon. Always fun. And Miles & Mason crack me up together. They crawl over each other, grab each other toys, follow each other around & are just sweet pals. Yesterday we were able to get together with Bre & her two, Alex & Max. It is so awesome to be with my Chico girls again & so crazy that we all have kids! I teared up just observing the scene of happy players yesterday! GOD is good!

Alex, Mase & Miles cooking up something yummy!

Max at 7 months

Best Buddies

Aren't they cute!

Abby-gails, Miles & Mason & the colander crown!

I LOVE MIKE

I don't mention my husband enough in my postings. You may all be wondering if he even exists! He does & he is wonderful. The best really. He did all my nasty dishes last night so I could go to bed, drunk on nyquil chugged straight from the bottle. He did a good job on the dishes too, I didn't have to re-wash a single one.

I love you Michael!

Sick of being Sick

There is an epidemic in Lincoln. It is a gnarly cold that requires you to wrestle with your arching & flailing baby to wipe the green boogs that drip from his nose continuously throughout the day. So grotesque. I don't want to be one of those Mom's whose kids walk around in public with boogers crusted to their face, but I see why those kids exist now. Wiping boogers sucks. So much in fact that looking past crusty faces is possible.

So Miles got sick for the 2nd time in a month this past week. The cold hit just in time for Grammy & Papa's visit too. Miles was in good spirits for the most part, though & I think it was beneficial to have grandparents around to hold him 24-7 like he wanted. I just hope Grammy & Papa don't fall ill like I seem to have done. I am so congested that it is embarrassing to say anything that begins with the letters "m" or "n". And sadly, when I feel like crap my patience level plummets. I look for any signs that Miles is tired so I can put him down & get a nap in myself. Poor baby. Bad Mommy.

We went to the doctor today & it turns out he actually has an ear infection. I was so sad to get that news, but relieved when I went & picked up his medicine & realized it was that delicious pink amoxycilan I loved so greatly in my own childhood (so...no battles to get Miles to take the meds). I gave him his first dose at dinner tonight & he sucked on the medicine dropper to get every last bit out!

Aside from the boogers & ear infection, life has been really good. We have been unusually busy with lots of appointments to get me ready to start my new job. When you work at a hospital you have to take tons of health exams yourself before starting work. All the appointments I have had to go to have thrown me for a loop because I am not used to having things to do at specific times. I have gotten way lazy as a stay at home mommy & very used to doing things on my own timeline.

As I mentioned earlier, we had a visit from Lynda & Harlis the past week, which was amazing! I love them sooo much (& how cool is that to be able to genuinely say that about my in-laws?!) & having them in our home was so comfortable. I miss them terribly & my OC-sickness really kicked in during their visit. It was awesome to be able to act as hosts to the people who have given so much to us over the years (or, I should say, Mike's whole life!).

Since I have last posted, I got to go on a girls night out (had fun, but realized I am over the club scene - I felt like such a MOM!!!), had a vist from the Martinez's (added to my OC-sickness but I am recovering), spent some time in Chico helping my Mom recover from surgery (it went really great - whew! Praise GOD for answering our prayers), did some shopping with my bro, hung out with the Laney's (surprise, surprise) & have just enjoyed our little family. I have to say, life is good. I feel blessed & thankful.

Hope you all feel that way as well.

OH! And, I got my computer fixed for really reals too! My posts should be more frequent! Thanks for not giving up on us ;)

Little Sick Face

Tubby Time

I LOVE thsi face!!!